Million dollar playground at P.S. 33

A million dollars can’t buy you as much nowadays, but it did buy the students of P.S. 33 a brand new, state-of-the-art playground.
The seven-figure recreational area at P.S. 33, located at 91-37 222nd Street in Queens Village, was created through a partnership between The Trust for Public Land and Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative. It is the 26th playground created through this partnership, and the 52nd “$1 million playground” overall that TPL has created across New York.
The playground, which was originally a vacant lot, was designed entirely by the students, teachers, parents and members of the Queens Village community. Their vision became a reality through the help of TPL, a national non-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving land for people to use as parks, playgrounds and community gardens. Queens Village was chosen by TPL and the city as a neighborhood most in need of safe recreational space.
During the design process, TPL visited P.S. 33 once a week and met with a group of second, third and fourth graders. The students were in charge of deciding what playground equipment would be included and even designed the blueprint of the area. They also wrote a survey and passed it around the school, giving everyone a chance to vote on what would be in the playground.
“We talked about what kinds of things they did in the yard under the existing conditions and what they would like to do once we fixed it,” said Mary Alice Lee, the Director of TPL’s New York City Playgrounds Program. “One of the more popular pieces was the net climber, because I think the kids wanted to play like Spider Man.”
TPL also met regularly with a YMCA afterschool group in P.S. 33, which was made up of students from different grades. Parents and faculty were consulted as well, in order to be certain the adults in the community deemed the playground safe. Construction began in the summer of 2010, and although the playground was officially unveiled on May 25, it has been open since its completion in November 2010.
The new recreational area, which was funded in part by MetLife and the Star Foundation, comes complete with a climbing net, running track, tennis court, sports field for soccer and football, three basketball courts, jungle gyms, painted games such as hopscotch, tables with chess and checkers boards, benches, trees, drinking fountain and an outdoor classroom with a chalkboard outlining the history of Queens Village.
Despite the grandeur of the school’s new playground, Principal Enrich M. Wagner believes that it is just the beginning of what the students of P.S. 33 are capable of accomplishing.
“To see the finished product holds a good sense of accomplishment,” said Wagner. “Now they believe that whatever they put their minds to, they can achieve.”